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COBALT NEWS
MAGAZINE
Issue 3, July 2018
SPECIAL EDITION
THE COBALT CONFERENCE 2018
23-24 MAY, LAS VEGAS
Promoting the responsible use of cobalt in all forms
COBALT NEWS
We just came back from our Cobalt Conference in Las Vegas and
are delighted to share with you its huge success. There is no doubt cobalt is the metal of the moment, primarily because of the devel-
opment of lithium-ion battery technologies and the growth of the
EVs, HEVs and PHEVs market but also due to its use in a wide range of technological applications from smartphones to tablets
and laptops enabling easy and fast wireless connection and facili-
tating work and life in the 21st century. However, it is not just about batteries as cobalt has many critical and essential uses in a
broad range of industrial applications.
Delegates attending the Conference received first-hand infor-mation on cobalt and the cobalt industry through presentations
and seminars which addressed some of the key and ‘hottest’ issues
of the moment including recycling and recovering of battery mate-
rials and responsible sourcing of cobalt. In this regard, the Cobalt Institute (CI) was pleased to announce the advancement of the Co-
balt Industry Responsible Assessment Framework (CIRAF) which
has been developed during the past 18 months to support the CI goal of promoting the sustainable and responsible use of cobalt in
all forms.
The Conference sessions emphasised the important role of cobalt in the industrial sector, showed in depth market reports, demon-
strated the pursuit of sustainable and responsible mining through
innovation in technology, highlighted the major challenges being faced by industry and stakeholders and outlined the ways to over-
come them.
On the 15-16 May 2019 The Cobalt Conference will take place in Hong Kong, we are looking forward to repeating the success of
this year and so look forward to your attendance at this key indus-
try event!
Issue 3. July 2018 COBALT INSTITUTE
COMMENT
IN THIS ISSUE:
• COMMENT
• THE COBALT CONFER-
ENCE 2018
• GREEN CHEMISTRY SEP-
ARATIONS:
KEY TO MEETING 21ST
CENTURY COBALT DE-
MAND
2 | COBALT NEWS. Issue 3, July 2018
3 | COBALT NEWS. Issue 3, July 2018
THE COBALT CONFERENCE 2018
A SUCCESS FROM THE BEGINNING
4 | COBALT NEWS. Issue 3, July 2018
The 2018 Cobalt Institute (CI) Annual Conference took place at the Planet Hollywood
Resort and Casino Hotel in Las Vegas, USA, from 23 to 24 May. It is the only industry event solely focused on cobalt which has, as we all know, become the most sought
after metal of the moment, with a more than three-fold price increase over the last
year. This was the CI’s 25th Cobalt Conference and has triggered immense interest among the cobalt industry sector with participation increasing by 50% comparing to
last year, ranging from producers, manufacturers and end-use companies to recyclers,
traders, analysts, investment companies, consulting firms and researchers.
The considerable attention surrounding the Conference this year allowed the CI to
construct an interesting and topical programme which included market reports, recy-cling opportunities within the wider cobalt industry, technological innovations, new
project developments, the continued grow of lithium-ion battery Megafactories as
well as responsible sourcing and sustainable supply of battery materials.
With regard to this last topic, at the end of the conference the CI, together with RSC
Global consulting firm, held a seminar which introduced the advancement of the Co-
balt Institute Responsible Assessment Framework (CIRAF) initiative which is designed towards achieving responsible and sustainable production of cobalt.
CONFERENCE DAY 1 (MAY 23)
CI President David Weight welcomed all the delegates to the 25th Cobalt Institute
Conference in Las Vegas stressing that cobalt has undoubtedly become the metal of the moment, being critical, strategic and essential for enabling technological innova-
tions and solutions.
He also emphasised the continuing work of the Cobalt Institute to protect market ac-
cess for cobalt and linked this to our aim of promoting the sustainable and responsi-
ble use of cobalt in all forms. He also highlighted the CI key role in the development of the CIRAF, the CI initiative focused on responsible sourcing of cobalt that will help
members and stakeholders identify material risks within the cobalt sector and provid-
ing a good-practice based guide on how to respond to those risks.
The new CI Chairman, Guy Ethier, Senior Vice President Supply Chain Sustainability at
Umicore, then officially open the Conference commenting on the challenges and op-portunities that have lately arisen within this industry sector. On the following day he
made a presentation of his company’s experience in sustainably procuring cobalt dur-
ing the last 15 years.
5 | COBALT NEWS. Issue 3, July 2018
THE YEAR OF COBALT: ANALYSING THE DISCONNECT BETWEEEN MARKET FUNDA-
MENTALS AND COBALT PRICES
The first presentation of the conference was delivered by George Heppel, Senior Con-
sultant (Cobalt and Molybdenum) at CRU.
He looked into the recent steep rise in price of cobalt to conclude that there is not a
general cobalt shortage as it could seem, but a metal shortage on which the cobalt
price is set due to a reduced output of this refined material, the closure or reduced output of many metal refineries in recent years and a lack of investment in the metal
sector; whilst on the contrary, the chemical sector is currently well supplied.
3
Why is the cobalt price so high?
Today I want to answer the question…
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
US 99.8% Co Metal, $/lb
6 | COBALT NEWS. Issue 3, July 2018
SETTING THE BENCHMARK IN THE RAPIDLY-EVOLVING COBALT MARKET
Charlotte Radford, the Battery Raw Materials Team Leader and Senior Pricing Reporter
at Metal Bulletin presented at the Conference to go through the history of the compa-ny and the functioning of prices, speaking about the review of its cobalt price specifica-
tions and its methodological approach; she also addressed the next change of names
for its in-warehouse cobalt prices to ‘standard-grade’ and ‘alloy-grade’ from June 2018.
RECYCLING SUPERALLOYS CONTAINING NICKEL AND COBALT
Recycling cobalt containing superalloys, widely used in a broad range of industrial ap-
plications, brings benefits both for generators and melters including revenue streams
maximized, more competitiveness, cheaper energy costs and a lower carbon footprint, among others. Daniele Sedge, Product Manager at ELG Utica Alloys, delivered this
presentation focused on one of the current hot topics within the cobalt sector.
Title
Pricing for the battery boom
7 | COBALT NEWS. Issue 3, July 2018
NICO ETHICALLY PRODUCED COBALT FROM CANADA
1 2 3
4
5
67
8
9
1110
SAMPLE ANALYSIS
▪ Demand growth in portable electronic devices, electric vehicles (EVs) & stationary cells for grid storage
▪ Cobalt Lithium-Ion batteries deliver superior energy density, performance & charge Life with safety
▪ Lithium-Cobalt Oxide (LCO)
▪ Lithium-Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt Oxide (NMC)
▪ Lithium-Nickel-Cobalt-Aluminum-Oxide (NCA)
▪ Major companies confirm cobalt-based batteries will remain the standard for the foreseeable future
▪ Typical smartphone contains 5-20 grams (g) of cobalt vs 4,000 to 30,000 g (9-66 lbs) per EV
▪ Supply issues driving efforts to reduce cobalt
▪ NMC 111 → 532, 622 & 811 & low Co NCA
▪ Cost vs. performance & safety tradeoff
8
Specific Energy in Rechargeable Batteries
0
40
80
120
160
200
240
280
LeadAcid
NiCd NiMH LTO LFP LMO NMC LCO NCA
Lithium-Ion BatteriesCobalt in cathode Other
8 | COBALT NEWS. Issue 3, July 2018
Cobalt plays an essential role in lithium-ion batteries chemistry and there is not substi-
tute at the moment to match its high thermal and safety performance. Robin Goad, President and CEO at Fortune Minerals Limited, introduced the Fortunes Minerals’ NI-
CO Project in Canada which main objective is to position the company as a leading
producer in cobalt used in batteries whilst addressing the increasing concerns about cobalt production’s concentration in the high risk DRC, refinery concentration in China
and its production as a by-product of both copper and nickel. He also highlighted that
Fortune Minerals will account for supply chain transparency and control of ethical co-balt all the way through the production of cobalt sulphate heptahydrate used in lithium
-ion batteries.
SUPPLY-SIDE CHANGES IN THE COBALT MARKET
Jack Bedder, Manager at Roskill, outlined that in order to meet the increasing demand
for cobalt, new sources of this metal will be needed in the coming future. The paper also addressed the development of the cobalt supply and refined capacity over the
next decade.
Outlook for demand: EV batteries will drive the boom
World: Outlook for cobalt demand (t Co) • Roskill expects the market to grow at 10%py to 2027 with demand from batteries growing at an even higher rate
• Battery demand could reach 240kt in 2027 according to Roskill’s base case. Low case scenario currently assumes <190kt
• It should be noted that there are lots of uncertainties with regard to forecasting and various caveats should be considered
• Some substitution possible in more niche applications but most non-battery end-use sectors will require increased levels of cobalt over the forecast period
Source: Roskill
2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 2027
Batteries (base) Nickel alloys Tool materials
Pigments/decolourisers Catalysts Magnets
Soaps/dryers Others
9 | COBALT NEWS. Issue 3, July 2018
WE HAVE SECURED SPECIAL RATES!
EXTRACTION METALLURGY AND ITS IMPACT ON BATTERY ECONOMICS
This presentation, delivered by Laurent Cohen, Global Marketing Manager at Solvay,
focused on the economics of various cobalt refining processes as well as on the optimi-sation of extraction technology. He concluded that there is a need for more cost-
effective production processes as well as opportunities for new technological innova-
tions.
NEW COBALT DISCOVERIES IN ONTARIO
Dr Ian Pringle, Technical Director at Battery Mineral Resources gave a comprehensive
overview on the company and its current cobalt projects focusing on the exploration
and assessment in Ontario (Canada) and Idaho (USA) mining areas.
Min
es &
On
-site
Pro
cessin
g P
lan
ts
The Cobalt (convoluted) Value Chain
6/6/2018
13
Copper deposits
(African Copperbelt)
Nickel sulfide & nickel
laterite deposits
(Australia, Brazil,
Canada, Cuba,
Madagascar, New
Caledonia, Papua New
Guinea, Philippines,
Russia)
Cobalt/Arsenide
deposits
(Morocco)
Cobalt metal
• cathodes
• ingots
• briquettes
• powder
• Co hydroxide (MHP)
• Co carbonate
• Co (+Cu) concentrate
• Alliage blanc
• Co sulfide (MSP)
• Ni-Co concentrate
• Mixed Ni-Co
hydroxide
RE
FIN
ER
IES
(Be
lgiu
m, C
hin
a, F
inla
nd
+ c
ou
ntrie
s o
f dep
osits
)
• Primary Co leach
liquor
Cobalt salts
• sulfate
• chloride
• carbonate
• oxalate
• oxide, tetroxide
• Metal scrap
• Battery recycling
Ores Intermediates End products
10 | COBALT NEWS. Issue 3, July 2018
EFFICIENT, SUSTAINABLE AND ETHICAL PRODUCTION OF BATTERY GRADE COBALT USING
CHEMISTRY AND GREEN ENGINEERING MOLECULAR RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY PRO-CESSES
HIGHLIGHTS SUMMARY
28
✚ Growing market driven by EVs & a global shift to lower carbon emissions.
✚ Multi-commodity portfolio delivering critical mass to most cathode chemistry & anode material end users.
✚ Consistent supply of quality raw materials from a single-source supplier.
➖ Ten Canadian cobalt projects containing the highest-grade cobalt outside the DRC.
➖ Quality portfolio of lithium assets strategically located in California & Nevada.
➖ Advanced high quality flake graphite projects in South Korea, the world’s second largest battery market.
✚ Multi-channel marketing & development strategy provides a presence in up- & down-stream battery material markets.
✚ Mine development in stable jurisdictions & quick path to production.
✚ Diversified & strong board & management team.
✚ Capital markets strategy culminating in TSX listing.
SuperLig® MRT: Essential to Management of Scale
• Efficient: Rapid production of pure products with > 99%recovery
• Sustainable: Minimal energy and water use, zerogreenhouse gas emissions, low metal inventory (workingcapital)
• Green Chemistry and Engineering: No organicsolvents; high metal selectivity in single stage separationseliminates labor, time, chemicals, space, safety, andprocessing costs associated with multiple separationstages; minimal waste
INNOVATIVE MOLECULAR RECOGNITION PRODUCTS
11 | COBALT NEWS. Issue 3, July 2018
Steven Izatt from IBC Advanced Technologies presented a paper on how this company together with Minera y Metalúrgica del Boleo are using Molecular Recognition Tech-nology (MRT) to obtain battery grade cobalt while minimizing the use of energy, water and chemicals and the production of waste. He also emphasized the decisive role of green engineering and chemistry to meet future cobalt production requirements in-cluding recycling.
CONFERENCE DAY 2 (MAY 24)
COBALT AND THE RISE OF THE LITHIUM ION BATTERY MEGAFACTORIES
Caspar Rawls, Analyst from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, open the second day of
the Cobalt Conference with a presentation that highlighted the rise of the lithium-ion battery megafactories in recent years to fulfil the anticipated demand of electric vehi-
cles.
The Megafactories are coming – 2015 Prediction
Benchmark Minerals’
slide from January
2015
12 | COBALT NEWS. Issue 3, July 2018
IMPACT OF LITHIUM-ION BATTERY RECYCLING ON THE SUPPLY CHAIN
Ahmad Mayyas from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) outlined the
significance of recycling at the end of the batteries life cycle both from an environmen-
tal point of view and as a way of recovering materials such as cobalt that can then be used to cost-effectively manufacture new batteries. He also said that these savings
could reach up to 43% of the cost of cathodes.
SELECTIVE AQUEOUS EXTRACTION OF COBALT FROM WASTE SOURCES
Increasing demand of cobalt combined with the current risks inherent to its supply
chain had led many firms to research on new ways and processes of recycling battery materials. Dr Michael Wyrsta, CEO at Lixivia gave a detailed explanation on the method
developed by the company to extract cobalt from waste batteries through selective
metal extraction chemistries and processes using aqueous based lixiviants.
NREL | 17
LIB Materials & Recycling in 2016
21
k to
n
25
k to
n
Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Finland
• Recycled materials are mainly cathode powders from different battery types (LIB, NiMH, NiCd)• LIB is the major type of the recycled batteries
Source of date: Lv et al., 2018; Heelan et al. 2016; Siret 2012, JRC 2016, NREL Analysis 2018
France
China
Japan
Pyrometallurgy
Hydrometallurgy
Mechanical
Recycling Capacity (MT)
Canada
31
k to
n
U.S.
13 | COBALT NEWS. Issue 3, July 2018
SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY OF Li-ION NEW BATTERY MATERIALS
OUR CHEMISTRY & PROCESSES ADDRESS:
We develop chemistry and processes to selectively extract metals from a variety of sources
Cobalt | Step 2 - Identify and assess risks in the supply chain
18
Cobalt supply chain mapping
Large Scale Mining (LSM)
Artisanal Small Scale
Mining (ASM)
Crude Refiner
CDM
FineRefiner
HY
Large Scale Mining(LSM
Other Traders
Where is the original (mine site)?
How do you control risks (WFCL)?
How can we trace the cobalt? Tier 1 Tier 2/+
14 | COBALT NEWS. Issue 3, July 2018
Bryce Lee, Director CSR at Huayou Cobalt Co, put an emphasis on the need to achieve a responsible cobalt supply chain management, to meet the expectations of stakeholders regarding the use of cobalt particularly within the lithium-ion batteries industry, one of its lately biggest application areas.
COBALT ON THE LME
The following presentation was addressed by Matthew Chamberlain, CEO of the London Metal Exchange and Member of the Management Committee of HKEX Group. In his speech, he provided delegates with an update on LME and talked about the develop-ment of the LME cobalt contract, the responsible sourcing of the LME cobalt and the in-troduction of a cash-settle cobalt contract.
RESPONSIBLE SOURCING SEMINAR: AN INTRODUCTION TO THE COBALT INDUSTRY
RISK ASSESSMENT FRAMEWORK
This year, the second day of the Cobalt Conference included a seminar organized by the
CI to introduce the Cobalt Industry Responsible Assessment Framework (CIRAF), an initi-ative aimed to enable member companies, and the cobalt industry more generally, to
conduct enhanced risk management in line with industry good practice and global
standards focused on the responsible sourcing of minerals.
22
Work with industry to serve the growing market’s needs
LME’s roadmap for EV metals
• Use LME’s know-how of
price risk management
to assess the needs of
the battery materials
market
• Launch effective,
transparent, regulated
and secure tools for
price risk management
• Work with the industry to
promote education,
market participation and
liquidity
Launch risk
management tools
• Gather feedback from
the industry regarding
the pricing
methodology currently
adopted
• Assess need for risk
management per
battery ingredient
• Develop
understanding of the
structure and
specificities of the
markets in the scope
of the analysis
Identify and refine
best-practice pricing
methodology
• Bring together key
participants across
the value chain to
acknowledge the
shared goals and
challenges
• Discuss the rapid
growth of electric
vehicles and the
impact on the
development cycle of
the commodities
involved
Formation of
Advisory Group and
discussion with existing
Cobalt Committee
Discuss key questions for battery complex
pricing
• Identify, support and
endorse the leading
index providers
• Work with the
industrial community
to encourage industry
wide adoption of index
linked pricing
• Work with index
providers to ensure
compliance with
appropriate
regulations
15 | COBALT NEWS. Issue 3, July 2018
The ultimate goal of this project is to allow for continued and coordinated progress to-
wards the sustainable production of cobalt.
CIRAF is being developed together with the consulting firm RSC Global whose Director,
Harrison Mitchel, conducted the seminar.
UMICORE’S EXPERIENCE IN PROCURING SUSTAINABLE COBALT
FOR OVER 15-YEARS
The final presentation was from Guy Ethier, Senior Vice President Supply Chain Sustain-
ability of Umicore and Chairman of the Cobalt Institute, who detailed how Umicore has
addressed the risks inherent to cobalt supply and operations during its more than 15 years of experience in providing sustainable cobalt.
ww
w.r
csgl
ob
al.c
om
The objectives of CIRAF
One of the major objectives of the CI is to promote the responsible production and use of cobalt in all forms.
Building on this commitment, the Responsible Sourcing Task Group of the CI has been working since May 2017 with its members on
developing the Cobalt Industry Responsible Assessment Framework (CIRAF).
The CIRAF project seeks to:
1 Identify material risks within the cobalt sector from CI members, as well as their customers
2Provide a good practice based framework that will provide guidance to members on how to respond to core risks and report on existing responses with a degree of flexibility that is most appropriate for their operations
3 Ensure the framework is credible, well-managed and accepted by stakeholders.
The purpose of this webinar is to outline the CIRAF structure, its provisions, and the expected approach CI members will take in
utilising the new framework.
16 | COBALT NEWS. Issue 3, July 2018
With this last presentation the 2018 Cobalt Institute Annual Conference closed its most
successful event in the recent years. The large number of delegates confirmed the in-
creasing interest of stakeholders in keeping up to date with the latest insights, technol-ogy innovations and projects which are being developed within the cobalt industry sec-
tor. This enthusiasm is greatly based on the exponential growth of cobalt price during
the last years and linked to the buoyant EV market and the technological develop-ments accompanying the lithium-ion battery field. All this has also led to increase con-
cerns over cobalt demand and supply and, consequently, over the need for a well man-
aged and coordinated responsible sourcing of cobalt which takes into account issues such as human rights, sustainability markers, environment and occupational health and
safety. This is probably one of the main challenges facing this industry sector as
demonstrated by the content of the conference’s presentations, many of them focused on lithium-ion battery materials recycling, sustainable new recovering processes, ad-
vanced green technologies and responsible sourcing of cobalt. We at the Cobalt Insti-
tute are absolutely convinced that this is the only way forward to a fully sustainable,
ethical and responsibly sourced technology enabling product.
The CI gratefully thanks all the delegates for their participation in this 25th Cobalt Con-
ference and looks forward to seeing all stakeholders at the next Conference which will take place in Hong Kong from 15 to 16 May 2019!
66
Segments battery size (kWh)
Cobalt has specific and beneficial characteristics, creating an essential contribution to the
performance of the cathode materials for lithium-ion batteries: Improving its life and safety
performance
0.4 1 10 25 75 50 200
Micro HEV HEV pHEV EV medium EV long Delivery Van E-bus
0.01
Smartphone
Cobalt: An Essential Element for E-mobility
CI Conference Las Vegas 2018 - Umicore - Cobalt Sustainability
17 | COBALT NEWS. Issue 3, July 2018
GREEN CHEMISTRY SEPARATIONS:
KEY TO MEETING 21ST CENTURY COBALT DEMAND
Cobalt Demand Increasing at Astonishing Rate: Rapidly increasing amounts of high
purity battery-grade cobalt are required for the growing number of products in the ‘green revolution’ that is sweeping the globe. Cobalt use in rechargeable batteries for
electric vehicles (EVs) of all types, hybridEVs, stationary power supplies, renewable
power generation, and clean energy production is increasing at a rapid rate, represent-ing more than half of the 2018 use of this metal.
Spectacular Global EV Growth: Global sales of lithium-ion batteries (LiBs) totaled
nearly 12 billion US$ in 2013. This market is anticipated to reach about 24 billion US$ by 2020, driven by demand for LiBs in EVs, HEVs, and many other applications. The
compound annual growth rate for LiBs was 22.8% from 2003 to 2013. (Christmann, P.,
et al., 2015, Chapter 1. In Chagnes, A., Swiatowska, J., (Eds), Lithium Process Chemistry, Elsevier, Amsterdam.) Projections place the number of electric cars in circulation by
2030 at 56 million, 28 times the 2016 stock. (International Energy Agency, Global EV
Outlook 2017, p. 23: Two Million and Counting, <https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/GlobalEVOutlook2017.pdf> Accessed April 30, 2018.) A
result of this spectacular growth in EV production is that demand for cobalt for use in
LiBs is projected to exceed supply by the early 2020s.
18 | COBALT NEWS. Issue 3, July 2018
Where will Needed Cobalt come from? Present production rates of cobalt fall far
short of meeting expected demand by 2030. One large source of cobalt is that irre-
trievably lost through inefficient processing of primary mined ore and scrap using lega-cy separation technologies, such as solvent extraction, ion exchange, and precipitation
(Legacy Separation Technologies).
Recycling: Largely untapped sources of cobalt lie in spent rechargeable batteries and other secondary sources. Present recycling rates for cobalt from these sources is low,
<5%. Without adequate recycling, millions of tons of rechargeable battery waste could
be discarded annually in future years, with irretrievable loss of cobalt. More efficient green chemistry-based processes for separation and recovery of cobalt from primary
and secondary sources could markedly increase cobalt supply.
High Purity Cobalt Required for High Technology Applications: Achieving highly pure battery grade cobalt requires either selectively separating and recovering cobalt
at high purity from complex matrices, as in nickel or copper ore beneficiation, or con-
trolling concentrations of impurity metals, such as cadmium or copper, in cobalt elec-trolyte solutions at specified levels leaving highly purified cobalt in solution. Metal im-
purities can have a dramatic negative effect on cobalt function in high technology
products.
Inadequacies of Legacy Separation Technologies: Cobalt separation from complex matrices and control of metal impurities in cobalt electrolyte solutions are expensive,
inefficient, time-consuming and generate appreciable waste using Legacy Separation
Technologies that employ solvents and harsh chemicals, have low metal recovery rates, have low metal selectivity, and are profligate in use of energy, water, chemicals, labor,
space, and time.
Meeting Projected Cobalt Demand Requires Major Changes: Projected 21st century demand for high purity cobalt in the quantities needed requires paradigm shifts away
from present Legacy Separation Technologies. These shifts include changes from (1)
organic solvent to aqueous chemistry usage, (2) high complexity to simplicity in system design, (3) low to high cobalt selectivity, (4) low to high cobalt recovery rates, (5) high
to minimal generation of waste, (6) and high to minimal discard of waste into the envi-
ronment.
19 | COBALT NEWS. Issue 3, July 2018
SuperLig® MRT has the Capability to Meet Future Cobalt Demand: SuperLig® Mo-lecular Recognition Technology (MRT) is a commercially proven green engineering,
green chemistry simplified separation process that achieves these paradigm shifts. MRT
processes use SuperLig® products consisting of a highly metal-selective organic ligand bound to a substrate bead, such as silica gel, by a tether in packed column format. The
target metal is selectively removed from a feed solution by the SuperLig® product, the
column is washed, and the metal is recovered by elution with a small amount of eluent (usually dilute mineral acid) producing a concentrated solution from which the pure met-
al is easily recovered. The column is easily regenerated for reuse, a process that can be
repeated hundreds to thousands of times making the SuperLig® MRT process economi-cally attractive.
Green Engineering Simplicity: The simplified column separation system used in the
SuperLig® MRT process has zero carbon footprint and small space, materials, chemicals, labor, energy and water requirements that provide markedly lower capital and operating
expenses when compared to Legacy Separation Technologies. The SuperLig® MRT pro-
cess can be incorporated into operational flow sheets eliminating time-consuming and expensive batch operations.
20 | COBALT NEWS. Issue 3, July 2018
Green Chemistry Benefits: SuperLig® MRT features high selectivity for cobalt and
impurity metals leading to single stage separations; rapid metal-binding and metal-
release kinetics; small metal inventory times (lowering working capital and enhancing cash flow); complete removal of cobalt or impurity metal by the SuperLig® product
eliminating need for repetitive processes downstream to polish residual metal; concen-
tration of cobalt or the impurity metal in the eluent making its recovery more efficient; replacement of organic solvents and expensive one-use organic extractants by an all-
aqueous system using mild chemicals; effective metal recovery at low feed concentra-
tion levels (mg L-1 or lower); and metal control in the feed solution eliminating waste generation that results in negative environmental and health issues. The efficiency of
SuperLig® MRT systems results in much lower capital, operating, and life-cycle costs
than those of Legacy Separation Technologies.
SuperLig® MRT Systems Provide Favorable Economics for Cobalt Separation, Re-
covery, and Purification: Economics for separation, recovery and purification of ei-
ther cobalt from ore matrices, of metal impurities from cobalt electrolyte solutions, or of cobalt from secondary sources can be much less for SuperLig® MRT systems than
for Legacy Separation Technologies because of simplification and highly selective sepa-
ration processes that eliminate the need for many capital and operating expenditures. Effective recovery for reuse of cobalt from these sources reduces dependence on
mined ore, contributes to global metal sustainability, prevents significant environmen-
tal damage and wastage of a valuable resource, and provides a reliable source of co-
balt for the burgeoning market for rechargeable batteries and other high technology
products.
This article is based on the presentation: “Efficient, Sustainable and Ethical Production of Battery-Grade
Cobalt Using Green Chemistry and Green Engineering Molecular Recognition Technology Processes,”
Jeon Woong An and Youn Kyu Yi, Minera y Metalúrgica del Boleo and S.R. Izatt and R.L Bruening IBC
Advanced Technologies, Inc., Cobalt Institute Annual Conference, 23-24 May 2018.
21 | COBALT NEWS. Issue 3, July 2018
Editor Note
Comment is the responsibility of the Editor. Views expressed by the contributors are their own.
Neither necessarily reflects those of the Institute, its directors or its members.
Material is presented for the general information of the reader, and whilst believed to be cor-
rect, the CI, its members, staff and contributors do not represent or warrant its suitability for
any general or specific use and assume no liability of any kind in connection with the provision
of the said information.
THE COBALT CONFERENCE 2019
COBALT INSTITUTE ANNUAL CONFERENCE 15-16 MAY, HONG KONG
More information available soon on www.cobaltinstitute.org
THE COBALT INSTITUTE
The Cobalt Institute carries
out activities from a head
office in Guildford, UK, to
promote the use of cobalt.
It is legally incorporated as
an association of a wholly
non-profit making charac-
ter in accordance with its
memorandum and articles,
which are available on re-
quest.
Membership of the CI is
open to those engaged or
interested in the industry,
subject to and acceptance
by the Board.
Cobalt News exists to dis-
seminate promotion mate-
rial on uses for, and devel-
opment in, cobalt technolo-
gy supported by items of
interest to cobalt produc-
ers, users and all their cus-
tomers. Unless otherwise
stated as copyright re-
served, Cobalt News per-
mits the reprint of articles if
fully credited to Cobalt
News and its contributors
where appropriate.
COBALT INSTITUTE
CHAIRMAN
G. Ethier (Umicore)
VICE CHAIR
T. Litzinger (New Providence Metals)
DIRECTORS
I. Akalay (CTT)
D. Elliott (CMOC International)
G. Jones (ICoNiChem)
J. Lowe (Dynatec)
A. McCarthy (Albemarle)
V. Mittenzwei (Kennametal, Inc.)
M. Oehlers (Shu Powders)
M. Ohyama (Sumitomo MM)
H. Pihlaja (Freeport Cobalt)
P. Ringeisen (Sandvik)
F. Schulders (Glencore International)
M. Shepherd (Vale)
M. Shumba (Borchers Americas )
E. Taarland (Chambishi Metals)
COBALT INSTITUTE
www.cobaltinstitute.org
18 Jeffries Passage
GU1 4AP
Guildford
UK
For further information:
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